TURLOCK — Facing a rested, running team after playing in an overtime game on Friday, the Warriors decided to slow down the pace, a lot. That strategy almost worked to perfection but a late Stanislaus rally came up short in a 68-60 loss to Cal State San Marcos Saturday night.

Christian Bayne netted 17 points to lead the Warriors as they fell to 5-6 overall and 4-2 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. The Warriors held the CCAA scoring leader Darnell Taylor to 15 points but Cal State San Marcos improved to 6-5 and 4-2 in CCAA play.

Stephen Evans had 14 points for a second straight double-digit scoring night. He had a career high 15 points on Friday. Vondel Faniel led the Warriors with seven rebounds and scored nine points.

After a slow 25-19 first half, the teams picked up the pace in the second half. But it was the Cougars running out to a lead as large as 22 points after a 21-5 run. Taylor slammed home two points at 14:01 to make it 46-24.

Cal State San Marcos held on to a double-digit lead until the final minutes of the game. A little spurt, with eight unanswered points from Bayne, got the Warriors within 12 points with four to play. Another 9-2 Warriors run got Stan State within seven, but CSUSM converted on 9 of 10 free throws down the stretch to hang on.

Darnell, who entered the night with a 21.9 points per game average, was coming off a 30-point performance on New Year's Eve in Carson at Cal State Dominguez Hill — a contest that resulted in a 95-84 Cougars win.

Stanislaus head coach Larry Reynolds' game plan was to limited CSUSM's possessions as the Warriors took just 20 shots (and four three-point attempts) in the first half. The offense finally heat up in the final eight minutes where the Warriors out-scored CSUSM 29-16.

Bayne continues to put up points consistently as he now has scored in double figures in all 11 games this season.

Akachi Okugo chipped in 14 points and Declan Daly pulled 14 rebounds to pace the Cougars.

Stanislaus State will next embark on the longest trip of the season, a North-South California trip at Cal Poly Pomona (Thursday) and Humboldt State (Satuday). The bus trip will cover more than 1,400 miles.